HONOLULU – Today the Hawaii Supreme Court issued two opinions related to the Haleakala Telescope on Maui. The first opinion unanimously agreed that the management plan for the Haleakala summit provided a sufficient assessment of potential environmental impacts from the Telescope. By a 3-2 majority, the second opinion affirmed the state land board’s decision in 2012 to grant a permit to build the Telescope.

Attorney General Doug Chin issued the following statement in response: “We respect the Court’s decisions and will consider them carefully to determine what impact, if any, they have on future matters before the state land board, including the Thirty Meter Telescope. The justices continue to stress the importance of conducting a fair process for all projects on public lands.”